Dynamite Chicken is American comedy film from 1972, starring Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...

.

“A contemporary probe and commentary of the mores and maladies of our age... With shtick, bits, pieces, girls, some hamburger, a little hair, a lady, some fellas, some religious stuff, and a lot of other things” boasts the films opening titles. An American film from 1972 involving Richard Pryor

Richard Pryor

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...

, and partly funded by and featuring John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

 and Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono

is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...

. It is a collection of subversive comedy sketches and routines relating to the peace movement

Peace movement

A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...

. Many famous figures appear as themselves in the film, including Joan Baez

Joan Baez

Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....

, Lenny Bruce

Lenny Bruce

Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...

, Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...

, Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg

Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...

, Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

, B.B. King, Malcolm X

Malcolm X

Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...

 (from archival footage), Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...

, Al Capp

Al Capp

Alfred Gerald Caplin , better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner. He also wrote the comic strips Abbie an' Slats and Long Sam...

, Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters

McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...

, Sha-Na-Na, Al Goldstein

Al Goldstein

Alvin "Al" Goldstein is a former American publisher and pornographer. His company Milky Way Productions, home of Screw, and his long-running cable TV show, Midnight Blue was started in 1968 and went into bankruptcy in 2004...

 and Yoko herself. The making of the film coincided with a period of excess and chaos in Pryor's life, and he appears noticeably strung out throughout.

"Not to be confused with blunt comedies like The Kentucky Fried Movie

The Kentucky Fried Movie

The Kentucky Fried Movie is an American comedy film, released in 1977 and directed by John Landis. The film's writers were the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. This same team would go on to write and direct Airplane!, Top Secret! and the Police Squad! television series and its...

or Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision (film)

Tunnel Vision is 1976 comedy anthology film featuring Roger Bowen, Chevy Chase, John Candy, Howard Hesseman, Joe Flaherty, Laraine Newman, Betty Thomas, Phil Proctor, Al Franken, Ron Silver, Tom Davis, Michael Overly. It was directed by Neal Israel and Bradley R...

, the film is archival footage, comedy sketches, spoken word recordings, candid in-the-street interviews, live performances, Hollywood movies, and vintage educational films. In fact 'Dynamite Chicken' could easily be called a De-Educating film. Its tag-line paints the perfect picture: 'Let’s hear it for sex, drugs, and rock’n roll!' You’ll find conflicting politics, racism, sexism, religious taboo, a lot of nudity, homophobia, cultural injustice, privilege, poverty, facts, bullshit, and a nun doing a striptease act. Something to offend everyone." writes Jon Dambacher from four-frames.com